Package for vapor dispensing device



p 1970 J. HARDING 3,527,405

PACKAGE FOR VAPOR DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Feb. 19, 1968 TILE-E fiErE INVEAITOR. (/ACK HAAw/A/c;

' BY I'lEEr-E {dd/ A770 NIH/6 United States Patent 3,527,405 PACKAGE FOR VAPOR DISPENSING DEVICE Jack Harding, Oklahoma City, Okla., assiguor to Big D Chemical Company, Oklahoma City, Okla., a corporation of Oklahoma Filed Feb. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 706,280 Int. Cl. A2413 25/00 U.S. Cl. 239-515 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A package for containing, advertising, shipping, and using a vapor dispensing container of the type which carries a liquid material which is to be vaporized through a wick extended from the top of the container and exposed to circulating air. The package includes a parallelpiped-type box having closure flaps at each end thereof, and having a plurality of air circulation apertures formed in the upper end portion thereof. A container support and spacer insert is frictionally retained inside the lower end portion of the box for supporting and fixing the position of the vapor dispensing container inside the box. A second insert which engages the cap of the container is frictionally pressed into the upper end portion of the box. A sleeve which is configured to mate with the external surface of the box is slidably positioned around the outside of the box and may be slid along the box to remove the sleeve from the box, or to cover the apertures in one end of the box.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to packaging techniques, and more particularly, to a package which may be used to store, advertise, transport, and dispense, a vapor from a container to the surrounding environment.

Brief description of the prior art Many and varied have been the types of packages which have been proposed for containing and shipping various articles and commodities. Where the packaged article is to be sold to houswives for household use, it is desirable that the package be attractive, and that its manner of utilization and removal of the contents therefrom be easily understood. It is, moreover, necessary in the case of chemicals, drugs, and liquid materials which are to be dispensed in the household, that the package be constructed so that these materials can be transported safely without danger of leakage, and can be used safely in the home without fear of spillage or misuse by children.

In recent years, there has been an expanding market for deodorizing and air freshening devices which can be placed in the home for the purpose of removing undesirable cooking odors or the like, and to maintain the air fresh and clean. Such air freshening devices have often taken the form of a container which contains a liquid deodorizing chemical, and which further encloses some type of wick structure which can be extended through the mouth or top of the container to conduct the liquid, and permit it to be vaporized by passing air currents. Frequently these containers have not been attractive, and the houswife has been reluctant to use the container in an optimum manner-that is, by placing it in an exposed position and letting the container remain there for continuously deodorizing the air in the room where the container is located. It has also been somewhat of a problem to package these containers attractively, safely, and in a manner which permits the desired degree of ease of use by the housewife.

3,527,405 Patented Sept. 8, 1970 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention provides a package which can be used to enclose a bottle or other container containing a liquid material which is utilized by volatilizing the material into a surrounding space, which package is not removed and discarded during use of the mate rial in the container, but instead, facilitates and aids such use when permitted to remain in place around the liquid container. Broadly described, the present invention comprises an internal container for containing a vaporizable liquid, and means associated with the internal container for dispensing a vapor from the container. A box surrounds the internal container and includes a plurality of side walls, at least one of which has perforations extending through the side walls and communicating with the interior of the box. The box further has end flaps on opposite ends of the side walls and foldable to a position of closure to form a top and a bottom of the box. A preferred embodiment of the invention further includes an open ended sleeve which is slidably positioned around the outside of the box, and is slidable to a position covering the perforations which extend through the side walls. The sleeve may be quickly detached from the box by simply sliding it along the side walls until it is removed from the box.

A preferred embodiment of the invention further includes a pair of insert elements which are slidably pressed into the opposite ends of the box to support the internal container, and to retain it in the desired position during shipment, as well as during utilization of the package for dispensing a vapor from the package in a controlled fashion.

From the foregoing general description of the invention, it will have become apparent that it is an im portant object of the invention to provide an improved package which is especially adapted for packaging transporting, and utilizing a volatile liquid in a manner which entails vaporizing the liquid in a controlled fashion for distribution to the surrounding environment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a liquid deodorant package device which can be utilized with a minimum of difiiculty for dispensing a deodorant in vapor form to a surrounding space.

Another object of the invention is to provide a package for transporting liquid materials, which package is economically constructed, yet is mechanically rugged and well suited for preventing leakage or breakage of a frangible container in which a volatile liquid is stored within the package.

A further object of the invention is to provide an attractive, compact, and easily used package which can be used for containing and dispensing vapors in a gradual, controlled fashion from a liquid located interiorly of the package.

In addition to the described objects and advantages of the invention, additional objects and advantages will become apparent as the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in elevation of a package constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the center of the package illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the package illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 as the various elements of the package would appear when separated and viewed from the right side of the package illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the package depicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 2, but illustrating the package device of the invention in use for dispensing a vapor to the air surrounding the package.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Referring initially to the drawings, and particularly, to FIG. 1, the package of the invention is shown here in its assembled status, and includes a box 10 which is typically constructed of cardboard or plastic, and is of a parallelepiped configuration. A sleeve 12 which is open at its opposite ends and is configured to mate with, and slidingly encircle, the box 10 is shown on the lower end of the box 10 in one position which it may occupy.

As perhaps best illustrated in the exploded view depicted in FIG. 3 and plan view of FIG. 4, the box 10 includes four interconnected side walls 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d, with the wall 10b carrying an elongated securing flap 10e which permits the box to be glued in its parallelepiped configuration. Each of the side walls 1011-1003 is provided adjacent its upper end with a plurality of apertures or perforations 14 which place the inside of the box in communication with the exterior thereof. The walls 10a and 100 of the box each carry a pair of transverse end flaps 16, and the wall 10b carries at each of its opposite ends, a locking fiap 18. The transverse end flaps 16 and the locking flaps 18 can be folded across the end of the box 10 in a relatively conventional fashion to form bottom and top closed ends of the box which can be easily opened when desired.

Located inside the box 10 is a volatile liquid container 20. The liquid container 20 is of the general type depicted and disclosed in US. Pat. 2,826,452, and includes a body 22 having an externally threaded neck portion 24 which threadedly receives a main cap 26. The main cap 26 has a protuberant spout 28 thereon which is centrally apertured to permit vapors from the volatile liquid contained in the container 20 to escape. An auxiliary cap 30 is connected to and closes the protuberant spout 28 of the main cap 26.

A wick assembly 32 is located inside the volatile liquid container 20 and includes a wire frame 34 which supports a porous flexible wick 36. The wire frame 34 is preferably of a configuration such that it frictionally engages the neck 24 on the container 20 when the frame is pulled outwardly through the neck, and thus permits the distance which the wick 36 projects from the container body 22 to be adjusted to any position desired.

The manner in which the volatile liquid container 20 is positioned and located within the box 10 is best illustrated in FIG. 2. It is important that the container 20 be located so that its neck portion 24 and the main cap 26 are at approximately the same level as the apertures 14 in the'several side walls 10a-10d of the box 10. It is also important that the container 20 be retained Within the box in a manner to prevent it from being displaced from its desired position when the package is in use for providing controlled dispensation of vapors from the volatile liquid contained within the container. A pair of insert elements 40 and 42 are provided, and these will hereinafter be referred to as the lower and upper insert elements, respectively. The upper and lower inserts 40 and 42 are identical in structure and each include a plurality of side walls 44 which frictionally engage the side walls 10a-10d when the inserts are pressed into the opposite end portions of the box 10 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2. The side walls 44 of the inserts 40 and 42 are interconnected by a contoured member 46 which has a first, relatively large diameter recess or depression 48 formed therein, and further has a counter recess or depression 50 of smaller diameter communicating with the relatively large recess. The arrangement is such that, in the case of the bottom insert 40, the bottom of the container 20 is of a size to be received snugly within the relatively large diameter recess 46 in the insert, and in the case of the upper insert 42, the external periphery of the main cap 26 fits snugly within the relatively large diameter recess 48 of this end cap, and the auxiliary cap 30 of the container fits snugly within the counter recess 50. The bottom insert 40 acts as a spacer to properly position the container 20 relative to the apertures 14, in that its side walls 44 are dimensioned to locate the container in this position when the container is received in the relatively large diameter recess 48 thereof in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6.

OPERATION The package of the invention as it appears in its assembly and arrangement for shipment is depicted in FIG. 2. Its arrangement, when it is in use for dispensing a vapor to the surrounding environment from a volatile liquid contained in the container 20, is depicted in FIG. 6. A number of advantages accrue from the package assembled and constructed in the manner illustrated in the drawings. Thus, when the container 20 is positioned within the box 10 so that it is retained in the illustrated position by means of the inserts 40 and 42, it is protected on all sides, and at the top and the bottom, from contact with the walls of the box, and thus there is no opportunity for breakage to occur in shipment. No direct contact between the walls of the container 20, which will frequently be constructed of glass, and any hard objects with which the package may come in contact, can occur. Further protection against breakage is provided by the sleeve 12 which is retained on the box 10 by frictional engagement. The sleeve 12 may be utilized to provide additional surface to carry advertising indicia, and can be utilized, if desired, to cover the apertures or perforations 14. In this latter position, it functions to help control the amount of vapor which is dispensed from the package when it is in use, as will be hereinafter explained in further detail.

When the package is purchased, it can be placed in use with minimum effort and With maximum effectiveness. Thus, where the internal container 20 contains a volatile liquid deordorant, as in one of the main applications of the invention, a purchasing housewife need only open the flaps 16 and 18 at the top of the package, and remove the top or upper insert 42. The insert can be removed easily from the inside of the container. When the insert 42 has been removed, the internal container 20 can be easily removed from the box 10 through the open top of the box 10. After removing the internal, volatile liquid container 20 from the box 10, the contents of this container can be utilized in one of two ways. In some instances, it may be desirable to shake a few drops of the liquid of the container onto a surface where it can be quickly and easily evaporated to the air. Where this method of dispensation of the liquid contents of the container 20 is employed, the top cap 30 is simply unscrewed from the main cap 26 and the container is inverted and shaken. This will cause a few drops of the liquid to pass through the aperture in the main cap 26.

The second mode of using the container 20 is the more important, insofar as the construction of the present invention is concerned. In this usage, the entire package, including the internal container 20 and the box 10 are used conjunctively for permitting vapor from the volatile liquid to pass into the surrounding environment in a controlled fashion. In order to accomplish this, the main cap 26 is removed from the neck portion 24 of the body 22 of the container 20, and the framework 34 of the Wick assembly 32 is then pulled upwardly through the neck of the container. The position of the framework 34 relative to the neck portion 24 of the body 22 of the container 20 is adjusted so that an amount of wick 36 is exposed on the outside of the container sufficient to introduce vapors of the liquid into the surrounding environment at the desired rate. When the wick has been thus adjusted, the container 20 is returned to the box so that the base of the container is positioned in the large diameter recess 48 and the container assumes the position depicted in FIG. 6. It will be noted that, in this position, the bottom insert 40 spaces the container 20 from the bottom of the box 10 so that the exposed wick 36 is opposite the perforations or apertures 14. Air may then circulate through the perforations or apertures 14 to pick up vapors from the wick 36 and move them into the surrounding environment. The transverse flaps 16 and closure flap 18 at the upper ends of the side walls 10a-10d are, of course, closed at this time.

Although, in most instances, the sleeve 12 will be discarded at the time of use of the package in the manner depicted in FIG. 6, it may be desirable, at times, to retain the sleeve 12 on the box 10 and use it as a shield to cover or obscure part of the apertures 14 in the upper portions of the side walls 10a-10d of the box 10. By manipulation of the sleeve to thus cover the apertures 14, the rate at which the vapors from the wick 36 are dispensed can be closely controlled.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been depicted in the drawings and hereinbe-fore described, it will be understood that various changes and modifications of the described structure can be effected without departure from the basic principles of the invention. Changes and modifications of this type which continue to employ the basic principles of the invention are deemed to be circumscribed by the spirit and scope of the invention except as they may be necessarily limited by the appended claims or reasonable equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A package comprising:

an internal container having an upper end and a lower end;

wick means disposed in the internal container and adjustably extensible from the upper end thereof;

a box surrounding said internal container and having a top and a bottom, said box including four side walls having perforations formed through at least three of said side walls in the upper portion thereof and communicating with the interior of said box, the perforations in two of said side walls being aligned with each other through the interior of said box; and

end flaps on opposite ends of said side walls foldable to a position of closure to form a top and a bottom of said box;

a rectangularly cross-sectioned, tubular sleeve open at its opposite ends and slidably positioned around the outside of said box and slidable to a position covering said perforations, said sleeve being detachable from said box by sliding from either the top or the bottom of said box;

a lower insert element having four side walls mating with the four side walls of said box and frictionally pressed into the lower end of said box, said lower insert element further having a contoured member interconnecting the side walls of said lower insert element and defining a relatively large diameter first recess and a relatively small diameter counter recess communicating with said first relatively large diameter recess, said lower insert element supporting said internal container in one of said recesses and in spaced relation to the bottom of said box; and

an upper insert element frictionally pressed into the upper end of said box and identical in configuration with said lower insert element, said upper insert element engaging the upper end of said container and spacing said container from the top of said box, said upper and lower insert elements retaining said container in spaced relation to the side walls of said box for preventing damage to said container during shipment and storage.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,687,830 10/1928 Clevenger 239-51.5 2,556,608 6/1951 Will 239-58 X 2,711,942 6/ 1955 Jacquet 239-57 X 2,738,224 3/1956 Turner et al. 239-58 X 2,826,452 3/ 1958 Le Fevre 239-47 3,023,885 3/ 1962 Kindseth.

3,048,323 8/1962 Staufier.

3,136,413 6/1964 Hall.

3,305,079 2/1967 Bowman et a1.

2,763,395 9/1956 Meek 239-58 X SAMUEL F. COLEMAN. Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 206-46; 239-58 

